


Starlight Asylum

by MsFantasy3



Series: Benicio's mafia family [2]
Category: Abel the rebel angel - Fandom, Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:09:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27311677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsFantasy3/pseuds/MsFantasy3
Summary: The Benicio family, is about to have the adventure of a lifetime, as the ghouls come closer and they need to face the darkest of trials if they want to find a way out.
Series: Benicio's mafia family [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1826161
Comments: 3
Kudos: 2





	1. Stranger Danger

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This story is part of a series. It is strongly recommended to read the first story of the series "Ink Virus" in order to get to know the characters. This is a fanfic of Bendy and the Ink Machine OC's and is made in collaboration with UnKnown294.
> 
> Abel the rebel angel: by twisted-wind (on Deviantart)
> 
> Benicio (Bendy) mob boss: by thelostmoongazer (on Tumblr)
> 
> Elymas: by animal-guardian (on Tumblr)
> 
> My own OC's (Gizmo the crow, Fonzy the fox, Luna the wolf, Deeralyn the deer, Diana the fairy, and Jack the faun)
> 
> Alice and Boris: By the kindly beast
> 
> UK294 A/N: Disclaimer - If you believe that the character's accents are offensive towards you in any way, shape, or form throughout this series, that is not our intention. We're just using accent generators and our heads for experimental purposes. If we get anything wrong, please let either of us know in the reviews. Hope you enjoy the spookiness!

‘Tis but one cold Fall evening that starts this adventurous tale. The moon is partially hidden behind a veil of gray foreboding clouds, a signal of dark comings. The winds create a gentle, chilly breeze, making the colorful leaves of Autumn dance through the nightsky while Branches bounce to the imaginary tune.

At the outskirts of Toon Town, lies a seemingly run-down warehouse with vegetation running rampant, the work belonging none other than to Mother Nature. As old and worn the trees became, the branches clacked and swayed, bounced and creaked, as they beat against the semi-busted rooftop when a strong breeze comes rolling in.

This is the home of none other than the notorious Benicio family, the proud members of the American mafia syndicate.

The boss of this group, known as Benicio, has been working in his office in the duration of searching for new targets to perform heists. More than a few writing utensils and papers are strewn across his desk, some papers being in small stacks on the sides while others overlap one another across the wood in an untidy manner. Earlier in the day, he had called in those who were willing to send over any useful information, all the while marking the dates in differentiating colors on the calendar on the wall behind him and within his handheld notebook.

The black, articulating-arm desk lamp bathes the room in a yellow luminosity, banishing the lingering shadows to the far edges of the room. They intermingle with the twin moonlit windows from the back wall, almost fully blocked by the blinds thanks to the slits. Benicio grabs ahold of its shade to adjust that light onto a couple of papers in his other gloved hand.

After focusing on the documents a little bit more, the contents in them detailing about a heist involving a plausible bank vault on the other side of Toon Town, the cartoon demon sets the two papers down in disinterest. With a sigh, Benicio’s body slumps. Since April’s months away from now, he will not have to worry about it until next year. There may be one or two pop-ups during November of this year, however, but he decides that they’ll be pushed back until the beginning of December - not near Christmas, of course.

Both arms are then lifted above his head in a stretch, the rest of himself leaning backward in the leather swivel chair. It clacks under the demon’s weight. A few satisfying, audible pops emanate from his spine and left shoulder and the demon boss languidly resettles in his seat once more. His left cheek then perches on his palm, supporting it by an elbow on the desk. The other hand takes up a random pen and readies itself to write up another additional piece to one of the random documents.

Boredom sure sounds fun right now, eh?

Luckily for him, at that similar point in time, a few knocks rang out from behind the doorway, making Benicio’s head look up from the paper. Inquired, he tells them to come in, beginning to somewhat tidy up the desk space to make it more presentable.

The head belonging to Luna the Wolf pops through the opening crack. “I see you are vorking zis late again, Boss.” Her moderate Russian accent flows through a jaunty smirk as she widens the door halfway, letting the hallway light pour into the room. The she-wolf then leans against the doorframe, her black tail swishing in amusement as both arms crossed over her chest.

“So... what? Are ya the Work Police or somethin’ now?” The mob boss raises a nonexisting eyebrow, mimicking her smirk in a grinning fashion. “Guessin’ ya planned a career change without me noticin’ ya doin’ so!” He bares his wrists to the toon doctor. “If it is ya, I don’t mind bein’ arrested for overworkin’.” His being involuntary shudders a bit at the next dialogue piece. “Just, no involvement with sedatives, alright?”

That gets them both chuckling, the comical atmosphere fogging over the peaceful office space.

“Niet, I am just messing vith you, Boss.” A small, fond smile takes home on her face. “I’m still sticking as your guys’ doktor, through and through.” Luna’s light-hearted features then take a turn towards seriousness and concern, her arms uncrossing. “Actually,” A finger gets pointed at him. “I need to konfirm if one of my patients is overworking zemselves before heading for bed. You are keeping up on your health, da?”

He shakes his head in mock disappointment, lowering his arms and placing a hand over his heart. “Ya doubtin’ me, after all these years, Doc? Ya woundin’ me here.” He then gestures to himself. “I’ve been in good health since ya an’ Deeralyn came to join us!”

Minutely perplexed, Luna tilts her head. “I’m not doubting you for being in good health, sir. It is great zing zat you are still managing it.”

His hands flop onto his lap as a crooked grin presents itself. “That, we can agree on. If anythin’, I’d be more worried ‘bout ya guys’ well-being. Ya know how Jack gets if he doesn’t take enough breaks an’ how Diana isn’t gettin’ enough sleep ‘cause of her second job bein’ recently busier.”

The small smile comes back to sweep away the incomprehension. “Da, I am vell avare of zeir situations. As alvays, of kourse,” Fingers are clasped and thumbs idly play with each other. “Especially since zere is mirroring cirkumstance betveen her and you tovards zese bouts of sleepless nights.” She lightly shakes her head at the thought of them not getting better rest.

Readjusting the lamp to its original stance, Benicio quietly tsks. He places both palms on the desk to help himself stand up, extracting an almost inaudible grunt out of him, followed by the immediate sensation of stiffness in his muscles. Maybe sitting in that chair for so long wasn’t a good idea, he supposed.

“Yeah, yeah, I get ya what ya sayin’...” Again, with the stretching of limbs, but this time, to his relief, more pops can be heard. “Kept grindin’ it in my head ever since we’ve first met on the train.”

Her palms now settle on her hips. “And I’ll keep doing so until it stays kompletely stuck in your brain, sir!”

“Oh, joy…” Playfully rolling his eyes, the demon boss spoke with feigning sarcasm on his tongue, passing a chuckling Luna as he treks towards the left where a couple of gray filing cabinets are tucked against the wall. While he opens the second drawer and rifles through the manilla folders, he mutters out, “Speakin’ of which, I could use a little break after reorganizin’ all this crap...”

“In zat kase, you probably von’t mind joining ozers in playing billiards?” Luna prompts with rising enthusiasm. Oh, how he would love to be like that all the time... “Zey vould surely be happy to see you having fun vith zem instead of, uh... being kooped up in here and vorking zrough another night.”

“Bet they would be…” She couldn’t see the gentle, sadden smile projected on his face; only a serenity-toned voice and fingers idly flickering through flimsy edges.

Closing the cabinet, the top drawer is next to be opened.

“I guarantee it! Before I headed out, Alice vas vinning against Abel. I had looked back just in time to see numbered balls rolling into pockets and everyone giving her surprised faces.” Her tail swishes happily while explaining the fun evening.

The mafia boss chuckles. “That’s Alice for ya. She’s often great at playin’ the sport. Became a natural at it, at first, an’ because of that, Boris nor I could beat her. We mostly got a kick out of the competitions between us, though.” He sighs, too low for Luna to pick up, due the remembrances of playing billiards in the old studio.

“I am happy to hear zat. I hope to be taught by her, or from you, or by anyone else when I have an interest in it.” Luna lets the conversation a pause before asking again, a hint of hesitation embedded in her confidence. “So... Vould you be villing to play billiards tonight vith zem, sir?”

After taking out a few more files and shutting the drawer, hearing the tiny wheels squeak as he closes the drawer, rue begins to tug at his brain towards what he’ll be saying next. “Maybe… Maybe another time, Doc…” Benicio hated doing this to her and the others, wishing to stop this nonsensical gainsay instead of looking through papers. “Right now, I'm still busy with gettin’ another soon-to-be heist ready. Might be one comin’ up in November, but with how things are now, it may or may not happen.”

Soft as he made his voice out to be, Luna could still pick up on the telltale heaviness of regret. In turn, she could feel her heart hurting in a half dollar coin kind of way. Both of them, however, didn’t know that they’ve thought the same idealism: They both wanted him to have fun with the family once more instead of having his job continuously weigh him down.

The doctor cast her eye - her eyepatch hiding the other - away from the boss, her enthusiasm, as predicted by both toons, deflating at the repeated attempt in getting him to take a break.

The banterous mood was slowly sinking away into a slumbering quietness.

The demon boss heads back to the still messy desk, dropping the files unceremoniously on top of the others. “I’m sure ya well-aware of this…“ His left-hand massages his right shoulder, feeling an ache wanting even the smallest of relief done upon it. “The business has, uh... kinda been slow lately.” Letting go, he drops back into his swivel seat.

“I am...” Got to stay patient.

An airy sigh escapes the demon, his pie-cut eyes fixated on the left-hand wall instead of the toon wolf. “To fix the problem, I’ve been lookin’ through many potential targets listed on this.” He waves a paper that has the names of different places typed onto it. “If there’s even remotely one, at the very least, I’ll be sure to let ya guys know about it.” The item gets put back down.

Luna’s ears and tail droop with her frown, her throat growing taunt with a mellow amount of disquietness. “Sir, I’m afraid zat you have been vorking for far too long.” The wolf’s eye shifts into showing resolution. “Keeping zis up in prologuing manner vill not do anyone any good. As both your doctor and tovarishch*, I don’t approve of you pushing yourself. You must be given appropriate amount of time to unvind and be avay from stress.” (T/N: *Comrade.)

Befuddled pie-cut eyes fly towards Luna, the look contained in his surprised face.

She shrugs her shoulders half-heartedly, finding the hanging clock above the cabinets more worthy of being watched. “And, so vhat if business has bekome slow? Ve are still making profits, no matter if zey’re small. Zere is more zan enough koin to get around for vhile longer. Ve vill be alright.”

No response came. She didn’t expect to get any. How could one be sent when it’s in this dejected oppressiveness?

With a gentle exhale, Luna turns to head out of the door, grabbing onto the knob without looking back. “I vish you pleasant good night… sir.” And the creaks call out.

“...Wait.”

The doorway abruptly stops at that muttered word.

Luna, halfway out, pauses to swivel herself around. A dull click was heard and the light from the desk lamp disappears, dousing the room in darkness; the moonlight was left to fend it off. Clacking from the swivel chair came next and a quick-footed toon boss strides up towards her, his face gleaming with calm optimism.

Benicio gently clamps both hands onto her upper arms, the sudden contact making her body stiffen. “Ya know, Luna. Ya right... Ya goddamn right.” Head shaking, he lets go and bops his temple. “What was I thinkin’, blowin’ off the proposal that easily!”

Her eye widens in flummox.

A couple of pats on the shoulder were given. “I’ll be takin’ that break, startin’ right now!” He begins speed-walking away, having a finger point in the air. “No more papers for me tonight or throughout the rest of this week!”

A broad smile appears on the cartoon wolf’s face, happily satisfied with this possible outcome. She almost lost the rein on the conversation, but in the end, came out victorious. Closing the office door, she briskly catches up to the demon and the two toons stroll through the corridor until they are greeted by three doorways, each one leading to a juxtaposed room. Luna stops in front of the right door that belongs to the henchmen’s living quarters, the muffled commotion coming from behind the wood making one of her ears twitch in response.

Benicio, however, walks straight past them, heading for the entrance of the building instead.

Luna looks at the demon in confusion. “Um, Boss? Vhere are you going? Pool table is zis vay.” A thumb shoots towards the door.

He pivots on his feet, also casting the same expression. “What’s it look like? I’m goin’ out.”

“Going out?” She becomes more confused.

Out of politeness, he mentally rolls his eyes. “I said I was takin’ a break. Didn’t say I was playin’ billiards. Though, I’ll still consider the offer when another opportunity comes up.” When he swings open the door, the breeze invites itself in to sweep their gales through the two. Both of them shiver, more so on the demon than on the wolf. “Just needin’ some fresh air, is all, Doc. Won’t be out long!” With his head turned, the mafia boss heads out, not giving another glance back at Luna.

He can hear the doctor’s call behind him. “At least, vear coat, sir! It’s cold outside!”

Ignoring Luna’s advice, Benicio shuts the door behind him and starts his trek towards the worn and cracked tarmac. He chuckles, imagining Luna glaring and huffing at him for doing so.

Today became a particularly windy one. Fallen leaves, all in various stages of decay and colors, have scattered across the path’s surface during the Autumn season. Each one that the demon steps on, as he makes his way towards the entrance where the sentry trees guard it, creates a crunching noise. Small clusters piled themselves in various spots of the lawn and under the baring branches, the brisk wind scattering the loose ones across its wilted surface.

He goes towards the pseudo-sentry tree on the left, coming to a stop as to lean his back against it. Crossing an ankle over the other, rattling can be heard when his searching fingers flit within the trouser pockets. It abruptly becomes silent once they’ve found what they were looking for: A cigarette box and a silver-polished lighter. Pulling a cig from the former between his lips, the lighter sparks a few times before coming to life as a little, dancing flame. He then lets the cigarette end and fire meet, a hand shielding them from the next oncoming wind.

An inhale and exhale of smoke were taken through his teeth, the lighter now back into its pocket. Both lax eyes follow the hazy tendril until they and the smoke greet the dark, looming sky. Beautiful, was one of the words that can describe the serene scenery. With his thoughts beginning to unravel, Benicio watches the clouds that drift along the windy currents waft across the bright, full moon. By now, he’s gotten somewhat used to the chills sent his way.

Taking another swig at his cigarette, the mob boss slowly exhales the next bout of smoke, tilting his back a bit to let it fly above him.

As a storm of work related thoughts race through his mind, out of nowhere, a twig breaks somewhere. The sound snaps the mob boss out of his thoughts, causing the cig to drop out of his mouth and plop onto the leaf-covered ground. It gets stepped on in his haste to find the culprit. His sight darts around the area while his mafioso instinct gets him to take his beloved gun, Shirley, which is pinched in the belt of his pants.

Benicio aims Shirley’s barrel towards a random direction, believing that the source of the noise came from there. “Who’s there?!”

He’s met with silence.

The branches sway from the hard breeze, as the colorfull death leves roll over the earth.

“I know ya out there! Show yaself!” His eyes then arced towards the right, nonexistent ears detecting a cat’s yowl somewhere distant from his vicinity.

Each noise that the outside creates frays his nerves by the seconds, dwindling them down to the point where he nocks the hammer back on his gun and tenses his being into readiness. If things grow worse, he just may have to sweet-talk his ass through the other or use his abilities to warp them away.

“Look, fuck face!” The tone he uses is one of annoyance. “I'm not in the mood to play games tonight! Just know that i tend to have a trigger finger.”

The demon’s threat was well received.

No sooner did he aim his gun at the bushes, a figure comes out through the overgrown flora, a little limp in their gait made evident while approaching him. Benicio couldn’t discern who, or even what, the stranger’s supposed to be. All he knows is that the newcomer, standing a foot taller than him, wears an old, raggedy traveler's cloak. The cloth’s color blends well with the nightlife, the moonlight unable to overcome it. The hood hides their face well, the shadows helping the guest’s disguise.

“There we go!” Feigning satisfaction paints his features as he puts away his gun, jeer lacing through his sarcastic grin. “That wasn’t so hard to do, was it?” His tail gives a few lazy movements. “Now…” His eyes instantly narrow in suspicion, demeanor shifting to a business-like manner. “Tell me... Why the hell are ya sneakin’ up on me?”

Another beat of quietness is shared between them.

The unfamiliar being, despite the hood over their face, stares at the demon with genteel interest, possibly studying him like a scientist viewing something under a microscope.

Benicio looks skeptical, not trusting the figure one bit. “Just so ya know, if ya gonna say anythin’ I don’t like to hear. You’re gonna end up with an extra airhole.”

Again, the demon toon is met with more stifling stillness. He makes a soft, exasperated groan and a trail of ink starts to run down his forehead. Time felt like it was stretching itself longer this time.

A raspy chuckle suddenly fills the air.

“That... would be most unfortunate.” Amusement colors the, now identifiable, man’s lilt voice. The crackling it produces gets him to shiver slightly. “Here I am, offering the job of a lifetime only to be threatened.”

Benicio raises an eyebrow at this action as he slowly lowers the gun.

“What’s wrong with ya voice? Ya gurgled with nails or somethin’?”

The man chuckles; “...Or something”

“Huh, great, I’m dealing with a wise guy.” He places Shirley back between his belt.

After he’s done speaking, an unexpected roll of thunder makes itself known. Benicio looks up to the sky, seeing that the number of clouds has increased during his talk with the potential requester. It might rain soon, he guesses, watching the clouds move over the brilliant moon.

The wind kicks up again. This time, it billows into the two with a force that could’ve knocked them both off their feet. The currents also send a flurry of leaves at the mafia demon. He stumbles slightly, a raised arm hiding his face from the dead plants’ assault, and he quickly straightens himself. Unknowingly having them shut as he puts down the limb, his eyes open to see the visitor being strangely still through the gust, not reacting to the breeze’s push. The only thing reacting to it, though, was his mantle and hood.

A flood of foreboding crashes in.

Now that he’s thinking about the situation more - was it him, or is this guy giving off more warning bells in his head now? Despite the natural quality of being friendly towards others, even for him, this guy was one of those many new faces that he wants to avoid meeting next time. There was just something off-putting of him, something where Benicio couldn’t put his finger on and it’s just screaming danger zone right in his face without him knowing it.

Besides the shaggy material hiding away the true identity of the newcomer, the ominous, grating voice that sounded like metal grating on windows, and the air of mystery, he looks almost like a pilgrimaging nomad wandering through the countryside. Those traits, and possibly even extras, could warrant mistrust and apprehensiveness to an unsuspected someone.

This situation makes him wonder about the possibility of turning down the offer and returning inside, scot-free of any wrong-doing.

The mystery fellow stays as silent as ever. The hood became crooked during the occurrence and the mob boss discovers another additional detail from him. A grin has shown through the parted shadows, the moonlight reflecting off a set of opaque teeth that came down at multiple points, the canines being a touch longer than the others. To make this scene creepier, a flitting burst of cold wind stirs up the man’s cloak. Just unintentionally letting this eerie scene play out draws out a shiver from the demon’s spine.

A contented hum is presented and it causes Benicio’s heart to freeze in his chest. “I am pleased to hear that you’re interested in my request. As to discussing your questions, I shall do my best to answer them in full and, hopefully, leave nothing out.” The traveler’s head inclines towards headquarters. “As it is becoming chillier out here, mayhaps we could continue this conversation in a warmer environment?”

Benicio is already on edge as is and the politeness that the guy speaks in still doesn’t help ebb all of his suspicions away.

However…

He takes a glance back at the base, unsureness dwelling in his mind towards him inviting this stranger inside. Yet, his interest in this transaction was the loudest within his doubtful thoughts and he can no longer contain the curiosity that lingered from the start. The business was slowing down to a near snail’s pace, he was stressing out on what to plan next, and as Luna had reassured him - tried to, at least, they would be alright with what they have for a while. But, how long would that while take until the next heist is bestowed onto them? The mafia demon couldn’t wait.

Benicio tilts his head towards the entrance of the warehouse building, and in doing so, had signed himself and his mafia family up to the unbeknownst game.


	2. Decisions, Decisions

When the two arrive at the front door, the mafia boss comes to an abrupt halt as he places a hand on the knob. As a result of his halting, the client bumps into him from behind, a quiet ‘oomph’ released. The sudden thought of how the others would react towards the visiting man comes to mind, if one of them even coincidentally comes out of the living quarters while they were heading towards the office, that is.

‘Might not go so well,’ he thinks doubtfully.

“Oi, watch it.” The demon grumbles, shooting the man an intimidating glare.

“Ah, my apologies.” The guy replies, sending his own to the mafia boss. Though, the look of inquiry shrouds more prominently within his secretive eyes. “I do not believe it was my fault for you to decide on taking a sudden halt in front of the entrance. Was not honestly expecting it.”

“Yeah, well... I just did it ‘cause I’m given’ ya a heads-up, is all.” He snarkily counterattacks.

He gets a mirthful chuckle in return. “So, you have admitted to it.” If Benicio could see the stranger’s face now, it would tell him that the guy’s having fun messing with him. “For that, I’m thankful that you considered granting me a heads-up.”

...Alright, he’s starting to dislike this guy the more he’s near him. The mob boss needs to hurry this deal up, do the job, and collect the dough.

The demon toon does an eye-roll while groaning in response, his glare hardening by a fraction. “Anyways, we’re gonna be passin’ some companions of mine as we head in. If they come out of that room on the left of us,” He points at the door, “I can guarantee ya when they see ya, they’ll get wary an’ start askin’ questions.”

“I see.”

Then, to put the rest of his instructions bluntly, “A couple of them might even get the wrong idea since… well, you’re a total stranger an’ ya haven’t done business with us before. So, don’t make any unnecessary noise while we head to my office. Got all that?”

With an affirmative nod, lips form into a delighted grin. “Not even a peep shall pass my lips.”

The mafia boss mimics the nod. “Good. Keep up an’ don’t lollygag.”

With that being said, Benicio opens the front door and begins leading the man through the corridor as quietly as they can be. While they pass by the Henchmen Living Quarters, the stranger turns his hooded head towards one area to another as if studying the place. As he does this, the mafia toon listens to the group within the room bursting into a racket of laughter. Through it all, Abel’s voice shouts over the riot, adding something into another something, and a whole slew of hilarity comes about again.

Sounds like he’s attempting to crack some jokes and is succeeding in riling up the others.

To him, the angel rarely does jokes. He’s much more of a serious type than a jokester like himself, so it’s a nice thing to hear the rebel having fun instead of having a stick up his ass.

Just listening to all the toons enjoying themselves in there, getting together to create these rare and precious moments without the mafia fuss hanging over their heads all the time, gets Benicio to form a smile. At the same time, though, the expression holds a dispirited aspect. The demon nearly loses the pace in his steps as he continues hearing their happiness, and this action catches the stranger’s gaze. The look was not in the form of questioning but towards empathy.

The mafia toon does feel regretful towards missing these moments. Spend that lost time going through work-related business and planning ahead of schedule for future ones, all the while having to look after their well-fares... Going through more of those overlapping ordeals to the point where a great distance is possibly widening between him and the others is pulling at his stained heartstrings. He doesn’t need that canyon to stretch further.

The demon boss wills himself to keep going, the unknown individual staying behind him.

In the end, somebody’s gotta bring in the essentials. As the head of this mafia family, that is one of his primary responsibilities. He can’t let any of them down nor show signs of weakening unless otherwise happens. He’ll be damned to put them in absolute harm’s way once more.

This unknowingly further stirs the ad nauseam.

The two have reached the office in record time with no one coming out of the rooms. The laughter has died down to a moderate level, but the shouts and other commotion can continuously be heard, even from where they are. It’s still pleasant to listen to.

Benicio grabs a hold of the brass knob and opens the door with a flourish of his wrist. Just to perhaps taunt the mystery man more, he bows as a servant would to their master as a gesture with his right hand is made towards the desk. “Welcome to my humble abode...” Straightening, the hand on his left settles on his hip. “Have a seat at one of the chairs, then we’ll get started.”

The figure does as he’s told, taking a seat in one of the two cushioned armchairs positioned in front of the desk. Before the demon himself enters, he takes a cursory glance at the empty hall, making sure that nobody had heard them coming through it nor find and question one of them about their ulterior motives. Seeing as the coast is still clear for the time being, he closes the entrance. The boss then makes his way around the other seat towards his oak desk where a leather swivel chair behind it awaits him.

Benicio plops down in the seat before kicking his feet up onto the surface, casually putting one ankle upon the other. “So, Mr. Creeper-Creeps, tell me what we can do for ya at this time?” While asking, he lifts his head, then puts his threaded fingers behind his skull to take on a relaxed front.

Without speaking a word, the figure reaches into his cloak. Taking something out of an inner pocket, he sets what resembles to be a package onto the desktop. It’s relatively the size of an earring jewelry box, though the demon wasn’t entirely sure in his assumption, considering that its appearance is wrapped up neatly in regular cardboard paper. Might not even be a jewelry box under all that wrap, though. Held together by a thin twine rope, a hastily tied bow made out of the same material finishes the ensemble.

Benicio just stares at it for a moment, questioning the legitimacy of this package, before glancing back questionably at the unknown man. “Uh... What’s this? Is it somebody's birthday today?” Lowering his arms, they lay on his lap, squinting at the other skeptically. “Ya gonna need to give me more details than that, pal. It could be a bomb, for all we know, an' I’m not puttin’ my guys in danger if that thing starts tickin’.”

Another chill is sent down the mob boss’s spine as the figure laughs - again, annoyingly finding the situation possibly funny. This time - and it might be his imagination acting up, the rasps in each pitch sound a bit maniacal in his eardrums. “No need to know the contents of this package yet, my friend.”

“We’re definitely not friends.” Benicio quietly mutters out, sending over a blank expression.

The unknown being dismisses the comment, continuing his response in relative calmness. “I can assure you that it’s not a bomb, mister…?”

“Benicio.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.” The smile widens as he proceeds to speak more. “This package is by no means a threat to you and your henchmen, Mr. Benicio. If it were one, the bomb would have started detonating as soon as we’ve met. We both know that we have not heard any noise coming from it.”

The answer allays much of the tension within him, but there is still uncertainty left to subside. “Guess that makes sense...”

“I’m glad to hear that it does.” There is no mockery found in that reply. The stranger’s head motions to the object. “You see, my purpose for meeting you is: I wish for this package to be delivered to a certain institution for a certain dear friend of mine. The building is a fairly old one in the middle of the misty woodland. I wish to go there myself, but my intended plans for the visit have changed without my consent and thus, I would not be able to give it to them in time.”

The mafia head’s nonexistent eyebrows furrow at the cryptic description. “This someone... For clarification, who’s it goin’ to just so that I know who to give this to?”

A shake of the head. “My sincerest apologies, Mr. Benicio. That, I can not divulge for privacy purposes, but you will know once you see them. All I will say is: She has a fondness for the night.”

Curiosity melts away into a deadpan irritation. “Seriously? That’s all I’m gettin’? ‘She has a fondness for the night’?”

“Yes, that is all you are getting... For now, at the very least.” His grin shows an arcane-esque quality. “The rest, you shall have to discover for yourself.”

And while he speaks, a midnight-colored briefcase unexpectedly slides out of the stranger’s cloak. Setting it on the desktop next to the package, he spins it around and unlatches both its brass fasteners. When opened, two rows of cash lie inside its beige lining, followed by more of them nestled into individual fish-net pockets.

“This is half of your payment.” He leans back into the seat. “You will be handsomely compensated for your services, along with receiving the other share, when the task has been completed.”

As cartoon logic takes over, the demon’s mouth drops to the desk surface and transforms his pie-cut eyes into dollar signs.

This could be the lucky break he’s been looking for in months! Yet... if the past taught him anything, it’s that there is no such thing as easy cash hand-outs, even though it comes walking beside you while you’re waiting at the crosswalk for the lights to change colors... which may or may not have happened to him at some point.

News flash: Just another toon that resembled a suitcase, who suspiciously looked like he was about to break into a run from something. And that something, after taking a few seconds to make his decision, turned out to be a few cops deciding to show up right when the lights changed. Long story short: The suitcase toon comically ran when green and the cops gave chase while waving their batons in the air. The two of them did manage to capture the toon, but not before one of them had nearly gotten run over while crossing the crosswalk.

That day wasn’t one of his best. At least, he didn’t make a fool of himself in public by opening the guy up to see if there was anything in them. However, he still holds a grudge towards himself for not doing it before the cops came.

“May you be alright, Mr. Benicio?”

Blinking his eyes back to normal, Benicio gawks blankly at the stranger for around a minute. Decisional thoughts were trying to drown his mind, leaving behind a muddled mess of clipped and scrambled word patterns. Quick! Think of something that doesn’t sound dumb! “Uh…”

Stranger-man still has his head tilted in a curious mannerism. Dumbass! That’s not the right answer!

Swiveling his chair quickly so that the stranger doesn’t catch onto the befuddled embarrassment written on his face, eyes now occupy themselves towards one of the windows. “Th-That’s a bunch of cash for just playin’ mailman…”

“Yes, very much -”

The mafia head surprises the visitor by swiftly turning back around and slapping a hand hard onto the desk. “What’s the catch?” His eyes narrow into a glower, leaving no room for malarky.

The other being jumps in his chair, having not expected that to happen. Then again, this demon’s current emotional switches uneasily threw him off, which he hasn’t been used to since taking on his last job. He promptly grasps onto his usual composure. “My, suspicious, are we? I’m a tad troubled by your impetuous inquiry. I’m just a generous person that wishes for someone’s endeavors to bear fruit.”

Oh, how he would love to slap that baiting guy right in his face! “Well, ya a creep, for starters. Not to mention, unless ya wish to make ya forehead my gun’s new bullseye, ya better straight up quit bein’ so goddamn cryptic an’ -” The toon shuts his mouth before any more words spew out, freezing up in the process.

Oh hell, he better not have caught any unwanted outside attention from his yelling. Even the stranger became frozen by it. Though, whether his expression was out of startlement or fear, the toon doesn’t know. Benicio waits for a response with bated breath, the other patiently letting him do so. It felt like minutes had passed before some of the tension in his shoulders ebbs away. Nothing other than silence had called back to them, and for that, the demon is grateful.

“Just... forget what I was tryin’ to say.” He mutters morosely. A sharp exhalation comes through gritted teeth and clenched jaw as he leans back into the seat. “Didn’t mean to lose my temper like that. Just…” He shakes his head. “I just hate it when my clients withhold info from me like what ya doin’ now. It’s nothin’ against ya, of course.”

Wait... Why is he showing a piece of weakness to a complete total stranger? Is he being hypocritical now? Breaking news: Hypocritical Demon Toon on the Loose!

Although he understands, the unknown being keeps to himself towards this demon’s temperament. “You are forgiven, seeing as you are currently stressed out. And, don’t be looking at me like that; I have been perceptive of others since I was a young lad.” Private eyes send a reprimanding squint at the less-obvious, suspicious look. “I wonder, however, about your other clients’ thoughts towards how you treat them…” The unknown male mumbles out, sighing a bit tiredly.

Benicio stubbornly frowns back at the criticism. “I treat how I want them to be treated an’ vice versa.” Simple, to the point, and justifiable... Maybe.

“Perhaps so…” His head shakes in disagreement towards something thought-provoking. “My apologies for being this cryptic, but I can not say much unless you wish to bestow me a swift death by another.” 

“Another?”

Ignoring the cartoon's short yet simple question, mystery man tries to wrap up the info session with a question of his own “So, to put an end to this meeting as I am now needed elsewhere, what shall you say? Do you wish to carry on with my request?”

The quietness comes back as strong as lavender incense. Through this waft, the boss decides on what to do next.

Deep down, something about this assignment continues to make Benicio’s inky skin crawl. It’s fraying the ends of his nerves to no end as if they were being doused in boiling water. These questions and theorems racing through his brain like rapids in a stream aren’t helping his case, honestly. Not one of them allows him to decipher first. He knows the dangers and possibly grasps the time crunches towards how long the tasks take, given how many have been accomplished over the years. His acknowledgment towards getting someone close to death again because of his errors and shenanigans is heavily evident enough.

Will this endanger him and his mafia family? Yes. Is it likely to be obnoxiously irritating to get through? No doubt about it. Not all heists come out as a hundred percent success.

If the payment packed in full gets all of them farther in life until the next heist drought, however, then so be it. The boss will take this on with caution, along with plausible prior planning, of course. After that, he will go over the investment with the others, fine-tune the details and, hopefully, not create misunderstandings along the way. Yeah, he could somewhat see this panning out. All of this to get through, just as soon as this meet-and-greet hurries the hell up.

“I shall say, I don’t have much time left here. If there are any more questions you desire to ask, please, by all means, don’t hesitate now.” Unease has crept into an uncomfortable trembling, along with a concealed hand fidgeting the rim of the cloak.

“Ya have mentioned before about this misty woodland area…” Benicio starts off the question. While this may be his last to get out of the guy before they possibly meet later on in life, Benicio couldn’t rack his messy brain to ask for more. “Ya mean this is the same one as that creepy ass forest twenty miles south of Toon Town, correct?”

The mysterious man simply nods.

The number of details he’s gotten so far didn’t feel like much, the toon mulls over. Though, something tells him in the recesses of his mind that he’s gotten enough to go off, until the rest of the pieces link into place. Nobody would tell him what those pieces would be.

“It isn’t too far from here, then.” The mafia boss stands up and holds up his hand to the man to shake it. “Alright, that’s all I wanna ask. Ya got yaself a deal.”

Seeing as the guy isn’t taking his hand, the silence leads the toon into a dance of confusion.

Instead, he grants Benicio a bow, stands up from the armchair, then silently strolls off to the exit in a grace found in swans. These actions leave the office in a quiet waiting; an ominousness seeping into its shroud. Benicio blinks dumbly at the retreating being, the emotion going towards both the unexpected movements and at the mystique quality the stranger carries upon his person. The package and case stuffed with bills still rest on the desktop, the latter left open and revealing.

For a minute, Benicio stands there and watches the doorway close with a quiet click.

Another minute flies by. He snaps out of his uncertainty and bolts towards the door, wanting to make sure that his family wouldn’t even get a glimpse of this mystery guy. The wood swings open with a slam. Benicio now stands in the divide with shock evident on his face as he finds the hallway completely void of anyone. Nothing, not even a footprint or a noise, was left behind.

It’s as if the man had vanished into the very air itself.

Despite the stretching skepticism damning his mind, Benicio drops the expression and merely shrugs his shoulders. He should be questioning this entire situation further. He should get mildly irritable on the fact that this mystery guy gave him a skeletal creation of his request. Definitely should’ve been more forceful in his questioning than to let it slide for the sake of not letting the others hear his, as Abel dubs it, “blow-ups”.

Maybe he should have thought this whole request through better...

Deciding that standing at the door would do him nothing worthwhile, the boss makes his way down the hall. The belief that the man had probably just sprinted down the hallway on very light steps before stepping through the next exit weighs on his thoughts. Nobody, in his opinion, could be able to traverse through something without interacting with another on their way. Hell, even with toon logic, a toon can’t be completely silent. It’s just not possible. He pushes those thoughts to the back of his mind.

Finding himself standing in front of the Henchmen Living Quarters now, Benicio presents a smile. It’s good to hear that the commotion on the other side has been kept going without interruptions. And, by the sounds of it, the henchmen are still being entertained in there. Makes it easier for him to slip right on in without any notice. Wait, scratch that... At least, either Abel or Alice would notice him, more so on Alice as she’s used to him sneaking around. Damn angels and their near-accurate perceptiveness!

Just as he is about to open the door, the aforementioned chooses to be opened for him by none other than Alice.

Putting a hand to her heart, the angel is startled upon finding the mafia boss behind the wood. “Oh! Bendy, I wasn’t expectin’ to see you there.” She whispers low enough for no one else to hear, bringing the door closer so that only her head and neck are through the crack.

The demon shakes his head, then places a finger in front of his lips. His narrowed eyes faintly glare at her. “Oi! How many times do I need to ask ya to stop callin’ me that, Angelcake?! It’s Benicio, not Bendy.”

Before Alice could give another one of her replies, the door gets pushed gently out of the way. They now find themselves unexpectedly interrupted by the other angel. Both the demon and angels freeze on the spot, the second angel emitting a quiet noise of surprise when his sights target Benicio.

“Ah, crap…” Benicio begrudgingly mutters out. 

Shaking out of the shock, Abel fires a frown at the demon. Inquiry shows next in his eyes as he crosses his arms. “Well, well, well, look who the cat dragged in. Decided to finally join the party, Demon?”

The other cartoons, having been entirely present in the room, pause from what they were doing to watch the happenstance. Jack and Fonzy sat at the couch, both toons’ heads overlooking the back. Boris is leaning against the pool table with the cue stick’s tip closing in on a numbered ball. Luna stands next to him with her stick in hand. Another cue stick lies discarded across the table, presumably Abel’s. Gizmo, Diana, Deeralyn, and Elymas are situated at the end of the elongated dining table, facing each other with cards spread out in what looks to be Crazy Eights.

A concoction of emotions is evident on each of their faces, ranging from surprise to confusion to even a smidgen of delight.

Awkward silence begins to permeate the room, the stares not helping the grey blush creeping onto Benicio’s face. Why did Abel have to immediately pick the wrong timing this time?!

The coloration gets Diana to giggle softly, the tips of her fingers from her left hand failing to smother the sound. The demon shoots a glare her way, causing the fairy to instantly stop her fit. She shows him a fearful expression, making him soften his. He understands that she doesn’t want to anger him, but it’s almost rude to laugh at one’s misery. Almost.

As awkward as it felt being here, he strides right in with an air of nonchalance while hiding his already frazzled nerves as best as he could. No need to rile up the others just yet. Upon entering, he takes notice of everyone. Even the henchmen, who normally have their own homes, are here.

“My, my, everyone’s here an’ accounted for. Ain’t that convenient.” Each of his words feigns taunt astonishment, yet holds honest acceptance. Good, because despite not wanting all of them on this task, he gets the sense that everyone is required for it.

Not sure what the boss means by that, Benicio is greeted with questioning stares. He dislikes the fact that he’ll be the one to bring the party to an abrupt conclusion.

A sigh breaks through, schooling his face into a neutral facade. “I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but we’ll be havin’ another important job ahead of us tomorrow.”

The family is now stupefied by the news.

Boris glances at Luna while asking, “Didn’t ya tell us Benicio was lookin’ for potential targets? How in the hell do we now suddenly have an assignment?”

Luna shrugs her shoulders, her hands taking a defensive and allaying gesture. “Don’t look at me, I told Boss to go on break. I saw him go outside before koming in here to join you all.”

Benicio clears his throat to get the family’s attention back onto him. “Yeah, about that, Luna... It seems that my break has turned itself into another work-related thin’ again.” A sheepish grin breaks a little through the facade.

“Like it always does when ye’re involved…” Abel mumbles, eye-rolling at the notion.

Benicio gives him a deadpan look. “As always, Feathers, it’s nice of ya to kick a person down.”

The angel just sarcastically smiles back. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You two…” Elymas shakes his head disapprovingly before cutting into the conversation. “Pardon me for the intrusion, Benicio. I’m afraid that we don’t completely understand what you mean by “urgent job”.”

The mafia boss shrugs. “Fair enough.” Turning away from Elymas, he casts his sights upon the rest of the toons. “To give everyone a quick update, while I was on my so-called “break”, I met this guy - who was a major creep, if ya ask me - who offered a ton of dough to do a simple operation.”

Gizmo’s eyes were wide throughout the news. “Wait, wat? Away on! Ye’ve been blatherin' wi' someone we don’t nu av before?!” You can hear the mixture of askance and disquietness in his voice.

Benicio sends him an acknowledged apologetic glance, knowing that the crow would be upset because he had missed his chance to take up the bodyguard position again. Honestly, while the demon boss doesn’t need to have a bodyguard all the time, he’ll accept the crow’s sentimentality and for doing his job very capably.

Everyone views him with their troubled expressions. All of the henchmen didn’t approve of the idea of Benicio conversing with unbeknownst strangers, considering their track record with certain individuals throughout the years. Some of them seemed nice enough before turning wicked; others gave either an aura of strangeness or sociopathic ticks… They would rarely encounter genuinely kind clients these days. Each with their own experiences, their counterattacks, the pains, etc. Whether the customers were human or toon, they’ve presented them with an array of surprises and predictabilities that surely stuck the members’ memories for the rest of their days.

Guess how they would react if they’ve found out that just minutes ago, the stranger had entered headquarters. By Benicio’s guess, their feedback could be akin to fireworks going off in a warehouse.

The mafia boss pinches the inked skin between his closed eyes. Then, reopening them after getting his next thoughts in order, he uses the same hand to point a thumb at the doorway. “Just go to the Conference Room. I‘ll explain everythin’ there.”

The henchmen glance at each other, unsure about this whole situation. Doing as they’re told, each one either gets up or lays down what they have in-hand before leaving the room. The group makes their way towards the aforementioned area. Benicio, the last to follow, closes the door behind him. He starts walking in the direction of his office, needing to retrieve the briefcase and package first.

Not losing sight of the boss again, Gizmo takes notice of Benicio making his way further down the hall. “Wha ye 'eadin'?” The crow calls out, expressing inquired confusion. “Yer want us ter go ter de conference room, roight?”

“Uh... Yeah... Yeah, go in there without me.” The demon replies in a preoccupied manner, not glancing back at Gizmo. “I need to grab some thin’s first before I regroup with ya guys. Won’t take long.” He then resumes his trek.

And from that, Benicio’s brief reaction depletes some of Gizmo’s spirit. He’s not used to these types of reactions from the boss, so from this, his head drops and he emits a saddened moan.

Luna, having been watching the whole thing happen by the Conference Room entrance, attempts to lift the crow’s spirit by placing a supportive hand on his shoulder. “Don’t vorry much. He’s been tending to do zat lately due to overvorking himself. It vill kome to pass before you know it.”

The crow’s head had risen as she spoke, a bit of hopefulness gleaming in his eyes. “I-I’ll take ye ward for it.”


End file.
